I'm going to be down in that there London in a few months and I'll have a bit of spare time on my hands and so I'm wondering if partaking in a Ripper tour would be useful to me as someone fairly new to the case?

I ask as I've seen lots of photos around the board's showing how much the sites have changed. Am I better off just looking at photos in books as surely if the atmosphere and look of the areas are gone then I may as well just read about them?

Of course I could be wrong and going on a tour would help me visualise the area and give me an insight I can't get any other way?

Would it be a better idea just to take my A-Z and take myself around the areas of interest?

Go for it. I found it very interesting and have since gone back and took a friend on my version of the tour. I guess it's what you are wanting to get from it. Of course the places have changed over the years but the 'places' are still there. Enjoy!

The sites have completely changed and there is literally nothing left of "the old country" especially now that Mitre Square has been demolished. If you are familiar with the basics of the case, you'd probably do better walking around yourself with a book.

However a couple of the tour guides of one company are Ripperologists and authors (John Bennett and Philip Hutchinson) and provide an insightful, historical tour. If you do get a tour, I'd go with one of those guides and this tour company:

I see you only have a bit of spare time on your hands, therefore I would advise a guided tour. The tour suggested above would be a good idea. Take the tour, and use it to get your bearings of the area, and then in the future if you have more time to spare, go around the area under your own steam. There are plenty of buildings in the area which were in existence during the time of the Whitechapel murders.

Yes, they have messed with all of the sites, they've just about finished knackering Mitre sq, Bucks row/Durward st is still being slaughtered, what was left of the Kelly site is now covered over and the service road completely lost now.

berner st was destroyed a long time ago and forget Hanbury st!

Really though, there is still much to see, Ten bells for instance, various other buildings related like, the Mortuary at St. George in the east church (think this was the mortuary where Liz Stride was taken to)?

There is much to see still but, you have to look hard and it is worth the effort.

If it suits, I would always run you around as it is easy for me to get to Whitechapel living in Edgware as I do! I'd be more than happy for you to list out where you want to go and take you around, the offer is there should you need it.

I've not been on a Ripper tour, as my last visit to London predates my current interest in the case, but I did accidentally visit the site of Frances Coles' murder. Well, not the exact spot, as that was inside a fish-restaurant's storage area, but Chamber's Street. And even without knowing about the murder at the time, those railway arches make it a pretty creepy place late at night....just the sort of place I could imagine getting my throat slit!